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Bible Study - the Book of Job

We have the privilege of knowing what went on behind the scene.
Job and his friends didn't.

The dialogues between Job and his friends are going to cause us to ponder a lot about how we approach theology.

We are going to see that Job's friends were wrong, even though their theology could be said to be sound.
They basically tell Job that he must have done something offensive, otherwise this calamity would not have befallen him.
You reap what you sow.
That's scriptural and sound theology, and is the basis of the theology of Job's friends.
Problem is, even though it was sound theology, it was wrong in the case of Job.

Sometimes sound theology is not as black and white as one would wish.
There always seems to be an exception somewhere.
And this is why we often see one scripture pitted against another, as if one is right and the other wrong.
When the fact is, both are right, but it depends on the situation at hand.

There is a time and place for everything under the sun.
The question one should always ask first is ..... what time is it?

So, let us begin to study and discuss the book of Job.

God bless our studies.

We don't tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters exist.
They already know monsters exist.
We tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters can be killed.

Chapter 1

Job 1 KJV
(1) There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

Compiled with verse 8 ....

KJV
(8) And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Right off the bat, we see that God thinks highly of Job's character.One might even say that God thought higher of Job than any other person living on earth at that time.

Which brings us to an interlude question: At what time in history did Job live? (see next post).

We don't tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters exist.
They already know monsters exist.
We tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters can be killed.

The era in which Job lived

Since the bible does not specifically tell us, only clues can be compiled to speculate as to the timeline.
And there is much to speculate on.

My own personal preference is that Job lived sometime just prior to, or during, the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

There is no tabernacle/temple mentioned, but there are altars built.
Until the tabernacle was built (in the time of Moses), altars for sacrifice were built wherever you happen to be.

Another clue is the age Job lived to be.
Even though we are not given the exact amount of years Job lived, we know that he was already old enough to have grown children before the events took place. And we are told that after all the events of the book of Job take place, Job continues to live an additional140 years.

Job 42 KJV
(16) After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.

The age of Job gives an indication of a time in which men still lived to be rather old in age that is comparable to the ages during the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Abraham lived to be 175 years old.

Isaac lived to be 180 years old.

Jacob lived to be 147 years old.

IF Job was contemporary to the time of Abraham (or prior), then he most probably was alive before Noah died.
Abraham lived for 175 years and was 58 years old when Noah died.

We don't tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters exist.
They already know monsters exist.
We tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters can be killed.

1. Job is a model of faithfulness.
(He did not give up on God no matter the circumstances)

2. Satan needs permission from God in order to test believers.
(In other words, God knows what is best for us)
(For all things work together for good, for those who love God)

3. God favored Job's faithfulness, but Job was not flawless in his trial.
(Job eventually snapped & questioned why the Lord was punishing him)
(God did not give Job a direct answer to his question but pointed Job to His glory)

4. A dinosaur and a real life dragon are mentioned in Job.
(A sauropod (or what you might call a brontosaurus) is described in Job 40)
(A real fire breathing dragon called the Leviathan is described in Job 41)

5. Job 28:28 is one of my favorite Bible quotes.
(And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding).

1. Job is a model of faithfulness.
(He did not give up on God no matter the circumstances)

2. Satan needs permission from God in order to test believers.
(In other words, God knows what is best for us)
(For all things work together for good, for those who love God)

3. God favored Job's faithfulness, but Job was not flawless in his trial.
(Job eventually snapped & questioned why the Lord was punishing him)
(God did not give Job a direct answer to his question but pointed Job to His glory)

4. A dinosaur and a real life dragon are mentioned in Job.
(A sauropod (or what you might call a brontosaurus) is described in Job 40)
(A real dragon called the Leviathan is described in Job 41)

5. Job 28:28 is one of my favorite Bible quotes.
(And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding).

Interesting points indeed.
Thanks for chiming in on this study.

Hope you will expound on them when we reach the chapters they are mentioned in.

We don't tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters exist.
They already know monsters exist.
We tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters can be killed.

I already have a couple of post ready that I'm fixing to post tonight about where the land of Uz is, and the names of the 3 friends also gives clues as to the time and whereabouts of Job.

We don't tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters exist.
They already know monsters exist.
We tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters can be killed.

The land of Uz

Where is the land of Uz?

My speculation:

Genesis 10 KJV
(21) Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
(22) The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.
(23) And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.
(24) And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
(25) And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.
(26) And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,
(27) And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,
(28) And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
(29) And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.
(30) And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.
(31) These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

If the land ofUzis speaking of the land associated with this name, then it would be in the area of Shem's land.
Here is a map showing the land of Shem (within the blue borderline & including the green).

A later map reveals that a portion of this area would later becomeEdom, of which an area calledTemanis located.

Lamentations 4 KJV
(21) Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.

Genesis 36 KJV
(31) And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.
(32) And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
(33) And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.
(34) And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead.

1 Chronicles 1 KJV
(43) Now these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel; Bela the son of Beor: and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
(44) And when Bela was dead, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.
(45) And when Jobab was dead, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead.

Since one of the friends of Job is said to be aTemanite, I believe this is in the proximity of the correct area.

Job 2 KJV
(11) Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.

The names of these friends may also help to determine where and what era Job lived.
(See next post)

We don't tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters exist.
They already know monsters exist.
We tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters can be killed.

The names of these friends may also help to determine where and what era Job lived.

Eliphazthe Temanite (inhabitant of Teman)

Teman was a grandson of Esau (Jacob's twin brother).
This, coupled with the map posted earlier that shows Teman in the land of Edom (a name Esau was also known as).

Genesis 36 KJV
(10) These are the names of Esau's sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau.
(11) And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.

Bildadthe Shuhite (descendant of Shuah)

Shuah was the son of Abraham by the wife/concubine he took after Sarah died.

Genesis 25 KJV
(1) Then again Abraham took a wife/concubine, and her name was Keturah.
(2) And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.

The clan of Shuahis believed to have settled in area south of Babylon on the Arabian border.
Which lines up with:

Genesis 25 KJV
(6) But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.

And that lines up with:

Job 1 KJV
(3) His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she *****, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

Zopharthe Naamathite (inhabitant of Naamah)

Naamahwas a town that bordered the land of Judah and the land of Edom.

Joshua 15 KJV
(21) And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur,
(22) And Kinah, and Dimonah, and Adadah,
(23) And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan,
(24) Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth,
(25) And Hazor, Hadattah, and Kerioth, and Hezron, which is Hazor,
(26) Amam, and Shema, and Moladah,
(27) And Hazargaddah, and Heshmon, and Bethpalet,
(28) And Hazarshual, and Beersheba, and Bizjothjah,
(29) Baalah, and Iim, and Azem,
(30) And Eltolad, and Chesil, and Hormah,
(31) And Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah,
(32) And Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, and Rimmon: all the cities are twenty and nine, with their villages:
(33) And in the valley, Eshtaol, and Zoreah, and Ashnah,
(34) And Zanoah, and Engannim, Tappuah, and Enam,
(35) Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah,
(36) And Sharaim, and Adithaim, and Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages:
(37) Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdalgad,
(38) And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,
(39) Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon,
(40) And Cabbon, and Lahmam, and Kithlish,
(41) And Gederoth, Bethdagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages:

We don't tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters exist.
They already know monsters exist.
We tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters can be killed.

We don't tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters exist.
They already know monsters exist.
We tell our children fairy tales so that they will know that monsters can be killed.

Satan has historically accused the saints before God, as depicted in the ancient Book of Job.

Job 1:6-7, 9 - "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the Earth, and from walking up and down in it... Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?"

However, after a war in the Heavens during the time of the tribulation, Satan is permanently banned from accusing the brethren:

Revelation 12:7-10 - "And there was war in Heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in Heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the Earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in Heaven, Now is come Salvation, and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the Power of His Christ:for the accuser of our brethrenis cast down, which accused them before our God day and night"

[They basically tell Job that he must have done something offensive, otherwise this calamity would not have befallen him.
You reap what you sow.

I can't say I thought that, you reap what you sow, in relation to his problems. But as you say, we were watching from outside the fish bowl.

Originally Posted by Tambora

At what time in history did Job live?

Very close to the flood. I was thinking pre-flood for some time, but there is persuasive evidence that it wasn't preflood, as he wasn't 1000 years old. But the mention of extinct sauropods (Behemoth) and the aquatic Leviathon makes me think of the flood. Clearly many animals went extinct that had difficulty adapting after the flood.

We have to be careful to consider that Satan was in Heaven to accuse Job.
I think Satan was already expelled and placed here when He sinned and the Jobs accusations occurred here.

An omnipresent omnipotent God is in control here
Satan and the sons of God were just as accountable here on earth
If a sinful Satan can enter in the presence of God in Heaven, why expel him? This suggests a sinful being including myself can have access too.

I believe the conversations occurred here on earth. We are accountable to God here as in Heaven.

A most humour statement is when Job says to one of the friends "All wisdom will die with you" or "you think you know everything"

1. Satan and the Sons of God went to present themselves before the Lord. This suggests that they actually went somewhere to where the Lord was actually at (Job 1:6).

2. Lord asks where Satan was coming from. And satan replied that he was walking to and fro within the earth and up and down from within it (Job 1:7). In other words, if Satan was on the Earth presenting himself to the Lord, then asking this question would have been redundant seeing God could already seen Satan was already on the Earth walking to Him.

3. Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD (Job 2:7). In other words, Satan went away from where God's presence was at. This suggests that God did not come from the sky or meet Satan to talk to Him. Satan was the one who left the location of where the Lord's presence was residing.

Now, do not misunderstand me, Satan does not have free access to roam about in Heaven. I believe he is always under escort when he goes forth to accuse the saints. For the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan was also with them.

Job 2:1 - "Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD."

In other words, there is a distinction being made here between the devil and those who were with him. Granted, these sons of God could be devils who are also trying to bring their cases against the righteous. However, I think it makes more sense that Satan is being escorted by the good sons of God (i.e. good angels).

Also, John states that the work of Satan has continued from the beginning and remains the same even after the Cross of Christ. Therefore, while Satan’s defeat is assured, he was still at work years after the New Covenant was established.

1 John 3:8 - "He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning …This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother."

So if Satan has been operating the same way from the beginning, does that mean Satan still has access to the throne of God in heaven today? As we examine Scripture, we will see that Satan still has access to the heavenly throne accusing the saints as he has from the beginning. We see that Satan’s access to heaven will remain until he is cast out of heaven as described in Revelation chapter 12, which will review again shortly.

Job 16:19-20 - "Even now my witness is in heaven;my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God"

Romans 8:33-34 - "Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns?Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."

From the time of Job to the New Testament someone has been accusing the saints and someone has been interceding for them. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31); Satan is our accuser (Revelation 12:10), and Christ is our advocate (1 John 2:1). For Jesus himself said to Simon Peter that Satan had desired to have him, so that Peter could be sifted like wheat.

Luke 22:31 - "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat"

However, there will come a time when Satan will no longer accuse the saints in Heaven anymore. For Jesus predicted the future fall of Satan when He said....

"‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven’" (Luke 10:18).

And Satan's future fall from heaven is written in the book of Revelation. Lets read a little more of the passage this time, and understand what will happen.

Revelation 12:7-17 -

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea!for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman [Israel] which brought forth the man child[Christ]. And to the woman[Israel]were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness[mountains], into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time [3 ½ Years], from the face of the serpent.And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make warwith the remnant of her seed [the Church], which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

In other words, based on the above passage, we can conclude that Satan will be thrown down from Heaven within the 7 Tribulation because of the timing of several things.